World Record Set for Most Pregnant Women Doing Yoga

Quick, how many pregnant women does it take to break a yoga world record? If you said 500, you win! Where did this record-making yoga event take place? If you said China you get super extra bonus points.

That’s right, 500 women who are preggers gathered together in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen to practice yoga and ended up setting a new Guinness World Record. That is a LOT of oxytocin. The rules required all of the women to do all of the poses during a 30 minute session without tapping out. Of the 500, 77 sat out early, but 423 made it all the way through to help set the record. The cute cartoon drawings on their bellies as seen in the blurry image above (sorry! not our fault) were not part of the requirements but certainly added to the adorableness.

Yoga is a growing trend in China and prenatal yoga is seen much as we see it in the west, as a healthy activity and possibly helpful in promoting natural childbirth. In a country where the caesarian section rate is 47 percent, the highest in the world according to the World Health Organization, many in China are looking for ways to encourage natural childbirth which can have fewer health risks than medical interventions like c-sections.

“I think yoga exercises are certainly very helpful to natural childbirth because they help build our ligaments and joints,” said a one momma.

“I believe if my body becomes stronger, my baby will be in good health in the future,” another shared.

Which leaves us with just one question. How many babies would’ve had to be born at this yoga class to make the Guinness books?